Morning Shift

The pandemic changed how and where we work from, and recent articles suggest remote work could be detrimental to our physical and mental health. Reset digs into those claims and learns what employees need to feel fulfilled wherever their ‘office’ may be.

Northwoods Baseball Radio Network on WSLP-AM features fictitious matches between teams such as the Baraboo Bombers vs. the Big Rapid Timbers and the Old Timers Exhibition! Reset learns more on the eclectic broadcast from its creator and host, Mr. King.

Over a year since the overturn of Roe vs. Wade and many states across the country have instituted abortion bans. For high-risk pregnancies that often means a tough decision between finding out-of-state means for reproductive care or delivering a child with little to no chance of surviving. Reset hears from a high-risk pregnancy patient and healthcare experts on the issue.

The Mellon Foundation granted Chicago $6.8 million to invest in several monument projects. One of those will include the Rekia Boyd Project on the West Side. Reset talks to Scheherazade Tillet, executive director of A Long Walk Home and one of the organizers of the monument.

On the heels of another violent Fourth of July weekend, Reset checks in with a panel of anti-violence workers trying a variety of solutions to end cycles of violence in Chicago.

Actor Judy Greer has made a career out of being one of the most versatile people in any room or set in Hollywood. With more than 150 film and TV credits to her name, you’ve seen her in everything from rom-coms like “13 Going On 30" to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And this month, you can see her debut at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre with the play “Another Marriage.” Reset sits down with the booked-and-busy actress to go behind the curtain of her new play and talk about working in a fickle and changing industry.

Chicago is home to several mural corridors – from Pilsen to Rogers Park. These murals tell stories and are available for everyone to see. Reset learns more about the art form from muralists Sandra Antongiorgi and Rahmaan Statik, and also Robert Herguth, who writes the weekly Murals and Mosaics newsletter for the Chicago Sun-Times.

On July 4, 2022, seven people died and dozens more were wounded in a shooting during Highland Park’s annual Independence Day parade. An upcoming documentary called “Memorial” features the stories and voices of survivors of the Highland Park shooting. We talk with Highland Park-born filmmaker and director Jonathan Siskel, and two survivors of the shooting, Jacqueline von Edelberg and Rachel Lander.

A new report by Crain’s Chicago Business reveals the sky-high construction costs for housing developments being built through the city’s Invest South/West initiative — one of former Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s signature programs. Reset learns more about the cost disparity and what the status of the project is under the Johnson administration with Alby Gallun, Crain’s Chicago Business senior reporter covering real estate and David Doig, president of Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives.

Kara Jackson is known for being the National Youth Poet Laureate from 2019 to 2020. And now, she’s receiving glowing reviews for her debut album, Why Does the Earth Give Us People to Love. The Chicago-based singer-songwriter joins Reset to talk about her inspirations, her mandatory piano lessons growing up in a musical household and other local artists who encouraged her latest work.

Some Chicago drivers experience road rage over street closures for NASCAR race; Canadian wildfires fill Chicago’s air with smoke and haze; President Biden comes to town for fundraisers and kicks off his political messaging with what he calls “Bidenomics”. Reset breaks down these stories and much more with Mike Flannery, political editor at Fox 32 News, Ben Kesling, reporter, Wall Street Journal and Derrick Blakley, former CBS2 Chicago politics reporter Journal

Season two of FX’s The Bear is a hit – receiving a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. Fans are raving about everything from the story telling, the food to the cameos. Reset chats with Michael Muser, co-founder of Ever in the West Loop, one of Chicago restaurants featured on the show

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit this week against the city of Chicago and the Chicago Police Department over unlawful traffic stops. The suit alleges that Black drivers are four to seven times more likely than white drivers to be pulled over and that Latino drivers are twice as likely. Reset hears more about the suit from Alexandra Block, Senior Supervising Attorney for the Criminal Legal System and Policing project at ACLU Illinois.

This morning the Supreme Court ruled in a landmark affirmative action case stating that race-based admissions practices at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina are unlawful. Reset talks to University of Illinois Chicago law professor Steve Schwinn and WBEZ higher education reporter Lisa Philip about what the ruling will mean for the future of college admissions.

FACETS movie theater and Color Comics are coming together to host a screening and discussion about Black women in science fiction and fantasy TV shows. They’ll explore the characters of Star Trek Discovery’s Michael Burnham, Lovecraft Country’s Hippolyta and Doctor Who’s ‘The Fugitive Doctor. Reset hears from one of the panelists, WBEZ audio producer Cianna Greaves, to learn more.

The long-anticipated street race is finally happening this weekend and everyone has an opinion. Reset chats with Neil Steinberg, columnist for Chicago Sun-Times and two locals who are looking forward to NASCAR.

A proposed ordinance would create protections for some of Chicago’s most iconic vintage outdoor signs. Reset learns about the history of these signs, and their importance in the urban landscape and about restoring vintage signs from a Martin Treu, author of Signs, Streets, and Storefronts: A history, of architecture and graphics along America’s Commercial Corridors.

Wildfire smoke from Canada continues to smoother Chicago today. Experts anticipate the air quality index, as tracked by Air Now, could exceed Tuesday’s high of 288 - the second highest ranking that government agency tracks. Reset hears from Kelly Nichols, Senior Manager of Policy & Advocacy, Respiratory Health Association of Chicago and Dr. Ravi Kalhan, Northwestern Medicine deputy division chief of pulmonary and critical care medicine on what to expect

Chicago’s hourly minimum wage is set to rise to $15.80 starting July 1, while tipped workers will get paid $9.80 an hour. Reset learns more about the so-called “subminimum wage” for tipped workers and the latest on discussions around phasing it out. We check in with Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa of the 35th Ward; Sam Toia, president and CEO of the Illinois Restaurant Association; and Terri Evans, owner of Windy City Ribs & Whiskey.

As Chicago’s youth start their summer jobs, we follow up on Mayor Johnson’s campaign promise to bring more employment opportunities. WBEZ city government and politics reporter Tessa Weinberg gives us the update.